June 13, 2012 - 8:00 AM
MONTREAL - Discount retailer Dollarama Inc. (TSX:DOL) says its first-quarter profit rose to $42.6 million, a 40 per cent increase that was better than expected.
The profit of 56 cents per diluted share was six cents a share ahead of estimates.
The Montreal-based company's revenue for the 13 weeks ended April 29 was just under $398 million — up 15 per cent from the comparable period last year.
Analysts were looking for 50 cents per share of earnings and about $390 million of revenue, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters.
Dollarama says its sales were up primarily due to an increased number of stores and a greater share of sales from items priced above $1.
The company says 51 per cent of its sales were from items costing more than a dollar, compared with 44 per cent a year before.
There were also 54 more Dollarama stores, rising to 721 locations across Canada.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012